Children's Films: The Literature Connection

Abstract

Children's Films:The Literature Connection Carole Cox (bio) In studies of children's preferences for film content, form and technique, the most-liked films were those that were most like books.1 Indeed, the film which children rated the highest of the twenty-four used in my studies was THE CASE OF THE ELEVATOR DUCK (Learning Corporation of America), adapted from the book by Polly Berrien Berends.2 This preference would not be a particularly significant aspect of film interest studies were it not for the fact that so many discussions of films for children focus on the topic of film's value as literature. I sometimes wonder, however, if we aren't limiting our view of the complex relations that must exist between books and films to how well one medium has been translated into another. Some films have very little to do with any text; the question of their literary value, then, is moot. There is more to the puzzle of film's connection to literature, however. Perhaps some distinctions in discussing the film/literature connection are in order. Exploration of each of these may not lead us to easy answers, but we may emerge with a deeper appreciation of the complex question of film's connection to literature. Books and Films, In that Order Historically, educators have often treated film as the three ugly step sisters treated Cinderella-with marginal tolerance and mild exploitation. For decades, film was forced to make its stealthy entry into the classroom in one of three guises: 1) screen education to combat undesirable moral values fostered by the movies, 2) the instructional film (LIFE CYCLE OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY), and 3) film as an aid to the teaching of literature (Laurence Olivier as Henry V). In a 1913 issue of English Journal, Robert W. Neal advised "Making the Devil Useful," and gave tips on using the commercial film as motivation for English composition and literature appreciation. In a 1927 investigation, Mary Abbot of Columbia concluded that movies had an ill effect on children and convinced many teachers that film values should be taught to protect youth from the immoral movie. The Payne Studies of Ohio State came to a similar conclusion in the 1933 publication Our Movie-Made Children. As one historian summed it up, "Here is a book showing the movies for what they really are—a monster Pied Piper, with marvelous trappings, playing tunes irresistably alluring to the youth of the present day." World War II ended the missionary zeal of the 1930's approach to film study, but use of the instructional film, a spin-off from the Hollywood documentary genre, was prevalent. In the late 1940's and early 1950's interest in the media was renewed with the advent of television, but it remained misguided. Many school systems listed study objectives for the mass media while at the same time regarding film as an aid to the teaching of literature. In Minneapolis, for example, students were to see one entertainment film annually ". . . to promote the reading of fine books and to increase enjoyment and appreciation of films" in that order. Again, film played Alice to literature's Queen of Hearts.3 Scholars have often attempted to dignify films by demonstrating how much they resemble literature, or the theatre, sculpture, painting, music, and even architecture. Unfortunately, this creeping ecumenicalism has often served only to convince people that film is not a worthy art form in itself, but one which needs a crutch to support it in the presence of the other established arts. Film is still the unwanted stepchild of the arts.4 Films, Not Books Ingmar Bergman attacks the idea that the motion picture is the poor foster child of literature, or that the two are even distant relatives: Film has nothing to do with literature; the character and substance of the two art forms are usually in conflict. The written word is read and assimilated by a conscious act of the will in alliance with the intellect; little by little it affects the imagination and the emotions. The process is different with a motion picture. The sequence of pictures plays directly on our feelings.5...